College Days and Money!

MONEY!! Well THIS is a constant topic of concern all through the college years, but it is a topic best to address step by step!! My purpose is not to promote a specific style of money management. That is a personal decision parents must decide on their own, but I DO recommend that you establish some monetary policy and rules for your student so that everyone is on the same page. Before you decide on the details though, it's time for you the parents to think and reflect upon what you are actually hoping to achieve (besides not going broke yourselves) concerning your student's FINANCIAL education. This is a major part of learning to "ADULT" and the process begins now, NOT at the end of college. What do you want your child to learn, specifically, about managing their money? If you think about it, this is really important because surely we don't want our kids to be at the same exact place they are now  on this topic 4 years from now. Do we?  

Writing down your objectives, will help tremendously to clarify what exact rules you want to establish for your college student. These objectives will also help you to explain your reasons to your 'child' should they want to protest.  Whether they accept your reasoning or not is not the point, however.  The point is that YOU will feel much more confident in your decision because YOU will understand why your rule exists and if they don't get it now, they will down the road.  Parenting isn't for the weak, this is for sure, especially during these college years!!  

Stay strong and keep your eyes on the goal!!